CITY ROOM; Police Arrest Man Hurt In Shootout In Harlem

By TRYMAINE LEE; John Eligon and Colin Moynihan contributed reporting.

Published: August 16, 2010

Updated 5:49 p.m. | Angel Alvarez, the 23-year-old man who was shot upward of 20 times by the police during a recent shootout in Harlem that left one man dead and several others injured, including two police officers, was arrested on Saturday upon his release from the hospital, said Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department.

The police have arrested Mr. Alvarez on charges of attempted murder, attempted assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and criminal use of a firearm in the second degree.

Despite Mr. Alvarez's arrest, it was not immediately clear if prosecutors intended to indict him for attempted murder. A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office said that they have yet to determine if there is enough evidence to prosecute Mr. Alvarez on any of the charges he was arrested on.

''As in all arrests the district attorney's office will determine what if any charges are appropriate at this time,'' the spokeswoman said.

While details of the Aug. 8 shooting remain sketchy, the police said that Mr. Alvarez and another man, Luis Soto, were engaged in a physical altercation where a weapon, a .38-caliber revolver, was produced. It is unclear whose weapon it was, according to the police, but at some point Mr. Alvarez wrestled it free from Mr. Soto and shot at approaching police officers, the police said, adding that a total of four bullets were fired from that revolver.

Four police officers responded with 46 shots of their own. Mr. Soto, 21, was shot and killed during the shootout, likely by a police bullet. Three bystanders, all men, were also struck by flying bullets.

Two officers were also injured during the shooting. One officer suffered a graze wound to the hand. The other was shot in the chest by a colleague but was uninjured because he was wearing a bullet-resistant vest.

Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Soto were among hundreds of revelers at a block party that spilled into the early morning hours along Lenox Avenue near 144th Street in Harlem.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.